* Click here for background if you need it. Tribune…

Chicago public school parents are calling on local radio personality Amy Jacobson to step down as head coach of Amundsen High School’s boys and girls varsity volleyball teams after she mocked Gus Walz, the son of vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, last week. Gus Walz has a nonverbal learning disorder that affects one’s physical coordination and ability to read social cues, according to advocacy group, Child Mind Institute.

“That’s my dad!” the 17-year-old enthusiastically shouted as he sobbed and pointed at his father on stage at the Democratic National Convention last week accepting the party’s nomination for vice president. During his speech, Tim Walz described his family as “my entire world.”

Jacobson mimicked Gus Walz’s animated reaction and laughed as podcast co-host Dan Proft compared him to a Chris Farley character in a “Saturday Night Live” spoof on their weekday radio show, Chicago’s Morning Answer. The show and hosts are known for their strong right-wing commentary.

Amanda Griffith-Atkins, wrote a letter to Amundsen’s principal, Kristi Eilers, requesting an apology to the school community after listening to Jacobson and Proft’s August 22nd show. Her son, who’s in 10th grade and has Prader-Willi Syndrome, attends the high school as part of a cluster program designed for children with disabilities.

“(Amundsen is) definitely a place where there are lots of kids with disabilities in the building, and so I think when I heard about the podcast, I was just honestly shocked,” Griffith-Atkins, who is a licensed therapist, said. “This isn’t about what her political views may or may not be. It’s about the fact that she mocked a child with a disability or that she sat there silently while somebody else did it, and she didn’t speak up about it,” she said.

* Tribune…

Lake County prosecutors are seeking to introduce Robert Crimo III’s banking records at his upcoming trial to show his purchase of the rifle they say he used to fatally shoot seven people at the 2022 Highland Park July 4 parade.

The motion for banking records was filed last week, and it could be discussed at Crimo’s next court hearing. That hearing was scheduled for this week, but now is set for September because of scheduling conflicts.

In the motion, prosecutors argue that the banking records are relevant evidence that should be admitted at trial.

Crimo’s banking statement shows that he spent $544 to buy a rifle at an online gun seller on Feb. 7, 2020, and that he paid a $25 processing fee in order to pick up the firearm later that month at a Lake Villa gun store, prosecutors said.

* Stay cool out there…

It is unpleasant outside right now, to say the least. Dewpoint temperatures in both Peoria and Lincoln were 80° as of 1 PM! 🥵 Here is a look at heat indices across the region #ILwx pic.twitter.com/TJm8jXbEuf

— NWS Lincoln IL (@NWSLincolnIL) August 27, 2024

*** Statewide ***

* Capitol News Illinois | Longtime Harris supporters do victory lap for their candidate at DNC: Five years later, [Sen. Mattie Hunter] last week watched as her party chose Harris as its first Black woman nominee for president of the United States at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago – the same city where Harold Washington’s 1983 campaign for mayor sparked a political hopefulness in Hunter that she hadn’t felt since – until now. “This is how I felt back in ‘83 when Harold was running,” Hunter said of Harris’ candidacy. “This is exactly what I felt.”

* WCIA | Illinois senators secure $1 million to remove lead pipes from schools, childcare buildings: Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) announced the state will get $1,093,000 to reduce the number of lead pipes in schools and childcare facilities in the state. […] The money comes from the federal U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a part of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act. A federal grant has provided more than $150 million in funding to conduct testing and removal of lead sources in drinking water in schools and childcare facilities across the U.S.

* Crain’s | Tired of waiting for Congress, Illinois and other states crack down on health insurers: The American Medical Association, which opposes restrictive prior authorization polices, reported last week that 10 states — Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Vermont, Virginia and Wyoming — have approved broad prior authorization bills it supports. The new Illinois, Minnesota and Virginia laws are not yet in the National Conference of State Legislatures database. The use of prior authorizations, created to discourage unnecessary and costly care, have surged in recent years, to the consternation of providers and patients.

* Daily Herald | CUB report: Customers choosing ComEd alternatives losing millions: Illinois residents and businesses who have chosen electricity suppliers other than ComEd and Ameren Illinois have lost about $297 million over the last year and $1.8 billion since 2015, the Citizens Utility Board reported Tuesday. The report, which cites state data on electricity competition, warns that consumers should be aware of alternative suppliers offering their services door to door, via mail and over the phone.

* SJ-R | New study finds majority of tested Illinois lakes, rivers are too polluted to swim in: According to the latest data from the Environmental Protection Agency, over 70% of freshwater lakes, ponds, reservoirs, and wetlands by acreage and over 42% of creeks, rivers, and streams are considered too polluted for swimming. […] For lakes and ponds, only 0.7%, or 2,404 acres of overall water have been assessed for the Clean Water Act, out of 321,296 acres. From the less than one percent assessed, 54.6% of all the water was found too polluted to swim in. […] While only 4% of Illinois running water has been assessed, roughly 4,755 miles, over 4,000, at 85.3% of those miles were found not suitable for recreational use.

*** Chicago ***

* WTTW | CPS CEO Pedro Martinez Says He Hasn’t Directly Talked With Mayor Since Reports That His Job is Under Threat: Martinez said he has not been told by anyone in the Johnson administration that his job is on the line, and in an interview on “Chicago Tonight” Monday evening, maintained there’s “never been better alignment between our district, our board … the city, the mayor, and I would argue even the unions” as they all know and want CPS to have more money. […] But Martinez admitted there is a “tension” over his desire to “protect the investments we have” while the district is “being pushed to add even more investments” when, he said, “the resources are not there.”

* Block Club | Chicago Tribune Freedom Center Demolition Begins, Paving Way For Bally’s Casino: The Freedom Center demolition could take five months with crews working 12 hours a day, seven days a week, city officials said at a community meeting in June. No explosives will be used for the demolition. Excavators will be used for most of the site, while other areas will require hand excavation.

* Sun-Times | Chicago may soon be largest city in Northern Hemisphere without an intercity bus terminal: The report, released Tuesday, analyzed the world’s largest 130 cities. Chicago ranks 114th in population with an estimated 2.6 million people. If Chicago loses its terminal, it will have the coldest weather of any city without an intercity bus terminal. Only two of the world’s 130 largest cities do not have intercity bus terminals, according to the report. Both cities — Nairobi, Kenya, and Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo — have substantially warmer weather than Chicago. Chicago averages 26 degrees Fahrenheit in January compared with the African cities’ averages in the 60s and 70s during the same month, according to the report.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

NEW: Evanston Mayor @DanielBiss announced he's running for reelection in an email to supporters this afternoon. The incumbent will run Evanston's first mayoral reelection campaign in 12 years following a very dynamic first term. Story TK shortly. pic.twitter.com/sKhoBhD66X

— Alex Harrison (@alexhairysun) August 27, 2024

* Daily Herald | No decision yet on controversial South Barrington church plan: Many area residents have publicly opposed the project, citing ecological impact, traffic and other issues. Some have criticized the church’s practices, too. Eight residents sued the park district in March to stop the project, claiming the auction that led to the sale was illegal. The plaintiffs filed a motion to voluntarily dismiss their claims but now intend to move forward with the case, one told the Daily Herald in an email.

* Naperville Sun | Construction of the Islamic Center of Naperville’s new mosque expected to be done by October: Phase one work — the construction of a 28,400-square-foot mosque — is set to finish in October, according to Islamic Center President Anees Rahman. As of mid-August, Rahman estimated the mosque was about 90% to 95% complete. “Everybody is really, really excited about it,” he said. The mosque is the first step in a multiphase complex that will eventually include a school, a multipurpose hall, a gymnasium and a mosque expansion to be build on 13.3 acres at 3540 248th Ave. in southwest Naperville.

*** Downstate ***

* WBBM | Judge denies pretrial release for former deputy charged in Sonya Massey killing: “The judge made a decision at the outset of the case to detain Mr. Grayson,” said Mark Wyckoff, Grayson’s defense attorney. Wyckoff told reporters at the Sangamon County Courthouse that an appeal for pretrial release was denied. It may be months before hearing the results of a second appeal.

* Capitol News Illinois | Du Quoin State Fair begins with twilight parade: The Du Quoin State Fair kicked off with a twilight parade on Friday, Aug. 23, and will run through Monday, Sept. 2. Admission for the fair is free with parking ranging from $10-$15.

* SJ-R | ‘Back home’: After battle with ‘flesh eating’ strep virus, K.J. Reid returns to teaching: Aaron Graves, the president of the Springfield public schools’ teachers’ union, called Kenneth “K.J.” Reid “a living example of modern medicine.” […] Eyeing Bunsen burners, test tube racks and periodical tables around the lab, Reid, 41, admitted it was “a very emotional” homecoming, just days before students were scheduled to return.

*** National ***

* Bloomberg | NFL set to vote on letting private equity buy stakes in teams: The NFL is taking a cautious approach by potentially allowing three individual firms and one consortium to buy stakes. The three pre—approved firms are expected to be Arctos Partners, Ares Management and Sixth Street Partners, while the consortium is comprised of Dynasty Equity, Blackstone, Carlyle and CVC Capital Partners, the people added, asking not to be named discussing private information. Former NFL running back Curtis Martin played a role in bringing the consortium together, a person familiar with the matter said.

* AP | Social platform X edits AI chatbot after election officials warn that it spreads misinformation: Top election officials from Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Washington sent a letter this month to Elon Musk complaining that the platform’s AI chatbot, Grok, produced false information about state ballot deadlines shortly after President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race. The secretaries of state requested that the chatbot instead direct users who ask election-related questions to CanIVote.org, a voting information website run by the National Association of Secretaries of State.

* KFF Health News | Medicare Advantage plans got ‘alarming’ break from the U.S. government a decade ago: Here’s why: Now, newly released court depositions show agency officials repeatedly cited concern about pressure from the industry. The 2014 decision by CMS and events related to i, are at the center of a multibillion-dollar Justice Department civil fraud case against UnitedHealth Group that’s pending in federal court in Los Angeles.